Masked
by Cheshire's-Heart
Summary: Smothered by family and unable to find any other means of escape, Anita runs away to the country to start her life as a new person. It seems simple at first, but when an admired man comes back from her past Anita would do anything to be noticed by him again without blowing her cover.


**Author's note: **This is my first Fanfiction in a long time. I put up my keys a while back after I horribly stumbled through a mary-sue era of my life, I'm glad I caught myself and changed it before anything got too awful. I'm not too steady with my writing anymore, but after some persuasion from friends, viewers, (and surprisingly teachers), I have begun writing once again. I will continue to add to this story when it strikes my fancy, but if I get enough reviews I will switch to weekly updates. Of course I promise nothing and once again apologize if my writing seems a bit rusty.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own harvest moon or any of the characters mentioned except maybe for Anita's parents and the taxi driver.

**Summary: **Smothered by family and unable to find any other means of escape, Anita runs away to the country to start her life as a new person. It seems simple at first, but when a admired man comes back from her past Anita would do anything to be noticed by him again without blowing her cover.

"_He told me that I was then probably never around a man who actually found me fascinating as a person rather than an object of wealth."_

_ Chug, chug, chug, chug…_

The sound of the train lulled me to sleep as it crossed the stretch of land. Most of it was forest area and it didn't interest me much. Even as I tried repeatedly, sleep would not bless me. My mind was too frantic though outside my skull my face was placid and calm. However my sweaty palms and erratic breathing at times gave a slight clink in my calm demeanor.

Then again how was anyone supposed to be completely calm when they were running away from home?  
I guess I'm a little old to be considered running away, I am twenty after all. It's more like I'm trying to avoid my family. Of course if they knew where I had run off to I would be dragged back in a heartbeat.

I thought I heard a familiar voice and my head turned around quickly, eyes widen to see someone ready to steal me back home. It was only my mind playing tricks on me though. No one was standing behind me.

Sliding back into my seat I gave out a sigh of relief and looked back out the window as the forest of pines turned into a forest of oaks.

Sometimes I felt like my family was trying to suffocate me, like I was the last good seed they had. In all honesty this was true though. My elder brother died in a drunken driving incident, taking down an elderly woman with him. My two older sisters both ran away with men, both of them claiming to be pregnant with their child, only one of the two claiming to be in love with the man.

Then there was me, sweet little Anita who could do no wrong. I was a good child growing up, a decent student and a musical prodigy. I stayed out of everyone's way and spent hours and hours working in a little garden behind our enormous mansion. That's probably what made me decide to run away to be a farmer.

Since I was the only good child, I was smothered. After all I come from a very prestigious family. After my sisters ran off they needed something good to clear their name. So of course, sweet little me was just thrown into this and that. I was to always attend events with my father and I was to always dress as an innocent little girl. While I am very innocent I admit, probably too much so, I am by no means a little girl anymore.

I jolted slightly when there was a light touch on my shoulder.

"Anything to drink Miss?"

Taking a silent breath I looked over at the attendant and smiled sweetly.

"No thank you."

The attendant nodded and walked off to the next person. Slinking back over to the window, I thought of how smart it was of me to purchase a ticket for third class. If I had purchased a first class ticket, the odds if I would too been recognized were high.

Many of my father's best business associates road the train in and out of town on a daily basis and while I wasn't sure any of them would be riding this far out in the country, it couldn't hurt to be on the safe side.

Today I had dressed plainly. While I would miss the sweet little dresses I had always been given, I found that it was easier to give them up than my freedom.

A little white dress with blue lace and pink ribbons for decorations, it had always been one of my favorites. It was only early spring, so just to be on the safe side I wore a nice pink jacket over it. I was always on the safe side of everything. Clothes, packing, gardening, even my romances were thought out carefully, even if there were only a few of them.

A light blush crept across my face as for the first time since I stepped on the train I was able to ease my mind as I thought of these past loves. Of course they were more like childish crushes than actually love. I was always raised to believe that love is not for children, and recently I have been reminded very often that in the eyes of everyone else, I was a child.

One of these little crushes, one that was probably the shortest lived of all, took place at a party in the city. My father had arranged a masquerade ball; my mother had always loved those types of balls. As I recalled this one took place not long after my sister Claire ran off with that man. The ball was of course a distraction to this event.

I remember that I had worn the most beautiful mask I had ever laid eyes upon. It was pure white and laced with pearls. At the inner corner of the eye holes were black pearls to accompany the black glass decoration that sported the white feathers to the side of the mask. It covered all but my lips.

Throughout the night I had many different dance partners of course. I was the daughter of a very wealthy man after all, so I had a chance to dance with many bachelors of wealthy means. While great deals of them were very attractive, I found most of them to be rather boring and dull. They only seemed to be able to talk of the weather, the stocks, my beauty, or themselves. None of these being a topic I found of any interest. I especially did not like it when they tried to flatter my beauty. I knew I had absolutely no figure or breasts to attract what a man actually finds beautiful in a woman. They only saw beauty in my father's money.

When I thought the evening was being to turn into a bit of a disappointment something different happened. One last man came to ask for a dance, and of course being a lady I could not refuse. As we danced he talked of things that I could not have hoped for any other man to discuss about. He talked of literature, poetry, epics; he talked of sciences and histories, things I was actually interested in hearing. I continued to dance with this stranger for the next three or more songs until we managed to sneak out to the balcony without being noticed.

I told him of how I had never met a man more fascinated and intrigue this whole evening. In fact I had never in my life met a man who talked to me as such an intellectual equal.

He told me that I was then probably never around a man who actually found me fascinating as a person rather than an object of wealth.

His words just connected to what I felt for so long and I don't even remember who instigated it now, but, we kissed. It was my very first kiss and it felt so natural. I could well assume that it was not his first, mostly because he seemed to know what he was doing, but he never took anything too far from my comfort zone. It was all so innocent.

After we kissed, he allowed me to remove his mask. Even though inside there were gorgeous men who had the money and genes to look far more attractive than this man, I found him to be the most handsome creature I had ever seen.

I did allow him to take off mine, but before he could we were interrupted by my father and a few other men. When my father saw me I was only standing there with my hands behind my back, the gentleman was standing a respectable distance away from me. Later my father gave me a little lecture about the moment, but at the time he did not say anything because it did not look despicable.

After my father questioned what we were doing out there, the gentlemen told him that we were only out here having a discussion. He said the music had been too loud for him to hear me. The men and my father laughed a bit, deeming it understandable as I was to them a meek creature who never spoke up much, just like any good woman would. One of the men asked the gentlemen where his mask went, and he replied that he had laid it down and misplaced it.

The men were satisfied with this and eventually left. The gentleman gently grabbed my hand and kissed it, but then he said it was about time he took his leave. Before he disappeared back into the ball room, I asked what of his mask that I still had in my hand. He told me I could keep it as a memento. I still have it with me. It actually was one of the few personal possessions I took with me when I fled last night.

Drifting back out of my thoughts I realized how tired I truly was from my night time escape. Now that my mind was clear, I let the sound of the train lull me truly to sleep as I waited for my new life to begin.

_Chug, chug, chug… chug chug…chug…sssssssssssss…_

"Miss… Miss, I don't mean to be a bother, but the train has stopped."

My eyes fluttered open and I mumbled a quiet apology to the attendant as I followed the other passengers off the train.

I had packed lightly, only one piece of luggage and a purse. I had only packed what I needed: a few changes of clothes, some personal items, and toiletries. I would buy more clothes and such when I needed them; I had brought an awfully large sum of money with me after all. I didn't even steal it from my parent's account, like my brother once did. I had saved my money for a long time. It was about two years now. That is how long I have been planning to run away.

I grabbed a bit of breakfast from a bakery in the station before I headed out to hail a taxi. I would ride it all the way to my destination, Zephyr Town, the home of the Bazaar. While in its prime it had been a very exciting event, it had gone down in popularity much over the past few years. I had only been once when I was a little girl and even then it wasn't very lively.

I had made secret arrangements so that when I got there I was to be greeted by the mayor. He personally had been the one to sell me the farm after all. He would set me up in my new home and show me the basics. He also promised that he would stop by often to see how things were coming along and he would even help me out if I ever found myself struggling. He seemed rather anxious to sell that farm. Even after I said I would pay for it at the requested price and in full he threw on extra luxuries to ensure that I would stay.

I'm not very surprised though. I had once heard my elder sister say that the farm in the Bazaar used to have the most popular wares for sale. The best produce came from that farm. Of course the family thinned out after a while and the remaining inhabitants were growing poor, so they sold the farm and moved on. I would be the first inhabitant of the farm in over fifteen years.

The taxi ride over was rather quiet and uncomfortable. The man driving was very stern and quiet. He kept peering in the rear view mirror as to make sure I wasn't messing anything up. I think he could tell I was from the city and he didn't trust me. I couldn't blame him though. Many city folk tended to come off as quite rude to people who weren't quite used to them yet.

Finally though I was at my destination and was I ever ready to leave that man's car. As I gathered my things the driver looked skeptically at sign of the bazaar and then looked skeptically back at me.

"You sure this is the place?"  
"Hm?"

"You sure you want to be dropped off…here? Missy you know this is practically as rural as it gets."

"Oh, yes I'm quite sure. I'm going to be the new farmer here."

For the first time the whole ride over, the drive smiled, and even laughed a little. Of course this hurt my feelings a bit but I didn't let it show too much except for a little pout.

"Geez Missy, a city slicker like you, becoming the new farmer? And here? Are you sure you can handle yourself?"

"I can handle myself just fine thank you." I said defiantly as I gripped the handle of my bad and pulled up. It got caught on something inside the trunk though and did not pull out. The more I tugged on it the more the man laughed and the more my pride receded back into an endless pit.

"Of course you can Missy. Here let me get that for you." He said as he got out of the driver seat, can around, unhooked my bag, and placed it on the ground. He smiled at me teasingly and I could only frown in return.

"See you around Missy. Show this Bazaar what a city slicker can do!" The man called from his window before he drove away.

I sighed openly and gripped the handle of my bag. What a way to begin my new life. While my pride was damaged my limbs were not. Even so I found it entirely more difficult to walk through the gates of the Bazaar. I swallowed loudly and took a few steps forward before I paused, gathered my bearings once more and marched right through.

"Ah! There you are!"

I was greeted by a booming voice that inhabited in an equally large man. I was a bit startled at first, but the friendly twinkle in his eye and his outstretched arms made me relax a little. It was strange, but this place felt more like a home already then my own did.

"You are Miss Anita, correct?"

I blinked out of my daze and smiled with a nod. "Yes, I am. You are quite a good guesser!"  
The man gave a hearty laugh and smiled once more. "Well, not so much a good guesser as a good user of probability! You see we aren't exactly a popular place, so any other visitor would be shocking to say the least."

The twinkle in his eyes seemed to dull at his last sentence and it made me feel a little bad strangely. After all I had never met this man before, but just after this brief exchange, and our earlier one over the phone, I felt a little affection towards him.

"Oh, I'm sorry I—"

"Oh don't be! We are so glad you are here! Let me show you to your new farm!"

The man boomed as he pushed me along gently with one of his fairly muscular arms. I was surprised that he seemed to be aware and in control of his strength. Especially after seeing how, erratic, his personality was.

The town was absolutely breath taking. Everywhere was so peaceful and quiet. Everything was clear and the air was so clean. I smelled different and wonderful things as I passed by different shops. As I passed on store, I was sure I smelled hay of some sort and thought it to be a supplies store maybe. If I ever purchased animals I would have to make a mental note to stop by that store one day.

As he pulled me by another store, I smelled wonderful foods. My mouth began to water a bit and I decided that I would eat here as much as possible. I was not really a good cook myself. Outside stood two ladies, one was elderly, but she looked very nice, and the other was the most breath taking woman I had ever seen.

She had beautiful blond hair and very fair skin. Even the most gorgeous lady I knew in society could not compare.

"Ah! Marian! Joan! Come and meet our new farmer!"  
The two women looked up and smiled at me. The younger woman, who I presumed to be Marian, helped Joan over to the bridge to meet us.  
"Good afternoon Felix. Who is our new farmer?" Marian asked, looking kindly over at me.

"This is Anita; I have a good feeling about her too!" Felix laughed loudly. While normally this comment would have slightly annoyed me, I was still looking at Marian, and I was probably looking like a big idiot because of it.

"It is very nice to meet you then Anita, this is my grandmother Joan."  
"…You are very pretty Miss…" I finally managed to stutter out. Then after realizing what I said I looked bashfully at the ground, not knowing what else to do.

Marian only smiled sweetly and pressed her fingers lightly against her lips. "What a sweet thing for you to say! You are very pretty as well Anita. I have a feeling that we will be good friends."  
Looking back up at her I was greeted by a warm smile which made me smile as well. I learned that Marian and her grandmother ran the café with the help of another, a boy named Dirk. I shook hands with the both of them before I followed Felix past the main town to my farm. As I walked I decided that if anything, I wanted to be best friends with Marian.

I could not be more pleased with my new home. I had a large plot of land for farming and a very large grazing field with the most breath taking view. If I was an animal and got to see this every day, I would be sure to produce great products.

The inside of my farm house was very spacious. It was simply too much room for it to only be just me living here. When I stated this openly to Felix he laughed again and replied,

"Well of course it is! One day you'll need this extra room when you have a family of your own!"

I couldn't help it; I smiled a bit at the thought. I would like nothing more if I could settle down in this peaceful town. Maybe have a husband, or maybe a child. It was such a warm thought, but I knew it would be far in the future for me and far from perfect.

Most of the afternoon consisted of Felix teaching me the basics of farming. I hate to admit that, at first, I was rather sluggish. I was used to gardening my cucumbers and tomatoes in a small area. I have never handled something as large as this. Felix constantly supported me though and kept cheering me on until I got it right. It took me a while, but I finally got the hang of everything.

"Now remember to come by my house after you get cleaned up. I have to have you fill in the finalization forms. Not too much paperwork, just some signatures."  
I smiled and waved good bye as he walked back off down the trail.

I was rather filthy after working all afternoon so I went back and took a shower as well as changed clothes. As I waited for my hair to dry, I started to unpack.

I placed all of my clothes away and put my toiletries in the bathroom. I kept a little bit of my money in my purse and put the rest in a piggy bank. I know its cliché but you never expect to find much in a piggy bank and it was mostly big bills anyway.

Then I started to take out my personal items. I had brought with me a few photos, mostly of family, which I placed neatly on a bookshelf. Next I had a very old, battered stuffed bear from my childhood. I couldn't bear to part with it so I childishly took it along. I guess I really am still a child basically. Then, I pulled out two very decorative masks. One was white and decorated with black. The other was the one that belonged to him, the gentlemen who I had my first kiss with.

This was obviously a memento I could not part with so I had taken it with me. I then placed both the masks side by side on the top shelf of the book shelf. There was not enough space for any books up there anyway.

By now my hair was pretty much dry so I went back to the bathroom to brush it out and check my appearance one last time before I left to go to the mayor's house.

The walk down from the farm was a bit steep but not too much to handle. I stopped at the bottom of the hill to catch my breath a bit and to also admire the waterfall that fell so peacefully close by. I began walking again when I noticed someone walking past the bridge to the house over by the river. At first I said nothing, but then remembered that since this was a small town, it was best to get to know people.

"H-Hello there! Sir!" I called out shakily with a wave.

The man stopped and turned around to look at me. He had a very stern look on his face and sharp, maroon eyes to match. I admit that he did startle me a bit. After a while of silence he spoke.

"Hello. I don't believe you are from around here. Are you new?"  
"O-Oh, yes! I'm the new farmer! My name is Anita! …Um, and w-who would you be?"

The man looked at bit at me and then nodded and turned back as he kept walking toward his house. "It's a pleasure to meet you Anita. My name is Lloyd."

I put down my hand, which was still waving dumbly, and quickly left for town. He didn't seem unfriendly, just a little hard to talk to.

My spirits were lifted when I entered town though and heard someone call to me. Looking up I saw it was Marian. I smiled brightly and walked over to her.

"Hello again Anita." She said with a happy smile.

"Hello Marian." I greeted back, glad to have someone approachable to talk to.

"Oh, Marian, can I ask you a question? Do you know where the Mayor's house is?"  
"Oh of course. The mayor's house is that big one on the hill. Do you see it?" She asked as she pointed it out to me. I nodded and she smiled in return.

"Good. All you need to do is follow the brick walkway to get there."  
"Thank you Marian!" I said with a friendly smile and wave as I started walking in the direction she pointed me to.  
"No need to thank me Anita. You make sure to come by and visit me and grandmother at the café!" She called after me. Turning I smiled brightly and replied that she could count on me coming often.

I walked with a renewed spirit in my step as I made my way. It was still walking, but it was nice and I felt energetic. So far I was enjoying my time in this town more than I have enjoyed my old life for the past two years. Everyone here was so kind and understanding, well, most of them were. I loved a bunch of the villagers already met so much. Then again I had always attached myself onto things easily. Even so I really did enjoy it here, even if I could never tell a soul as to who I was. I was actually a little frightened to what they might think of me after they knew I was a liar. I shook my head though and tried not to think about it much. After all I planned to never tell any of them the truth.

As I walked up the stairs, an unfamiliar body almost ran into mine as he ran up the stairs as well.

"Oh, sorry!"  
The man said before turning around and offering a hand to me.  
"I was in a hurry, sorry again."  
I smiled and shook my head a bit. "No, it's alright." He looked at me for a moment thoughtfully before saying anything else.

"Hm…you're new here." He inquired quizzically.

"Oh, um, yes, I'm going to be the new farmer."  
The man smiled and laughed a bit. "That's great! We really need a new farmer! Say, what's your name then?"

"Oh, I'm Anita. It's nice to meet you. And, you are…?"

"The name's Dirk! It's a pleasure to meet you! Where were you headed Anita?"  
"To the mayor's house." I replied. I couldn't help but smile too, he was just so energetic.  
"Huh, so am I! Here, we can go together." He said with a big smile as he pulled me up the stairs to walk with him.

After having a closer inspection of him, a slight suspicion fell over my mind. The way Dirk's hair settled on his head reminded me a lot of that man I had meet that night. It was strange that I was thinking about him so much lately. After all the dance had been about six months ago and it wasn't as if I had only thought of him. Only recently had I looked too far into the matter in fact.

While our walk was brief, Dirk managed to fill it was conversation about how amazing this town was and how I would love it here. He told me that he lived with his brother, Ivan, in the house by the stairs. Ivan worked in the city as a school tutor apparently.

Since it was just a school teacher I wasn't too worried about covering up my identity. I would probably be weary of many people from the city form this day on unfortunately. I was so glad that I had bleached my hair shortly before I left. Not only was blonde a drastic change from my old red brown, but I had had my hair done so shortly before I left that there were would be not one photo of me with my new look.

I focused back in on Dirk and we continued to chat all the way to the Mayor's house.

"Ah! There you are Anita! I see you have met Dirk then!" Once again Felix's booming voice startled me into attention. It had the same affect on Dirk as well because he had stopped talking as well at this point and was focused entirely on Felix.

"Yes, he was just telling me about how amazing Zephyr Town was actually."  
"Ah, were you? Good boy you are Dirk! Was there a reason you can here though?" Felix asked with a bright smile over at Dirk who smiled politely and scratched the back of his head for a second.

"I came to ask Sherry something actually. Is she up stairs?"

"Why yes she is. I don't think she's doing anything right now so you can head on up." Dirk nodded a thank you before waving to me and heading on up the stairs.

"You should meet Sherry before you leave Anita; she's such a sweet girl." Felix said with a fond smile.

"Your daughter I presume?" I asked with a small smile. Felix nodded back with a hardy laugh before he pulled out a fairly good stack of papers onto his desk.

"And now on to the paperwork." My smile quickly turned into a forced one as I looked at the larger than I had been expecting stack of papers. It would be awhile.

It was nearing nightfall by the time I finally got finished signing everything. My hand was a little sore but everything was finally settled.

"Ah good, now everything is in proper order! You are now officially our new farmer." Felix said with a broad grin that was so sincere that I couldn't help but to grin as well. It was about this time when I heard chattering voices coming down from up stairs. As I turned I saw Dirk coming down to the first floor followed by a girl I had not yet seen.

"Anyway Sherry, this is Anita." Dirk said, sweeping his arm over to where I stood. The girl looked over at me and smiled cutely. I smiled back and walked over to shake her outstretched hand.

"It's nice to meet you Anita." Sherry said as she smiled again.

"It's nice to meet you as well Sherry." I replied smiling back. I will admit that the family resemblance between Sherry and Felix was a little vague. Perhaps she took more after her mother than her father.

"Hey Dirk, it's getting a little late. Aren't you afraid your brother will get a little mad at you if you aren't home yet?" Sherry asked with a concerned look as he looked over at Dirk. Dirk smiled a bit a shrugged.

"He probably will now that I think about it. I'll see you later Felix, Sherry, Anita." He said giving everyone a toothy grin before running off. Sherry chuckled a bit before turning to me and grabbing one of my hands softly.

"Anita if you would please come with me I would like to give you something."

"Oh, well, sure." I replied, a little confused but happily surprised at the same time. We both looked over to Felix to see if it would be ok and he only smiled and waved a bit, assuring us that it was fine for Sherry to take me off somewhere.

She pulled me up stairs with a giddy smile on her face. Something about her calm yet bubbly personality put me in a good mood and I followed her without question.

"Father is horrible at keeping secrets. Practically as soon as you called about the farm he kept telling me that we were going to have a new farmer. He said it would be a girl and that he was sure I would be the best of friends with you; of course father was just being over excited. Even so, I believe we will get along just nicely."  
She smiled at me sweetly and continued to pull me along. She instructed to me to sit and wait on her bed while she got something out that looked like a circular box.

"I decided after he told me that I would make you a welcoming gift; something to welcome you into our town." She sat down next to me and opened the box. She pulled out of it a beautiful purplish pink hat that was decorated with cute pink flowers and a stunning white feather.

I was literally stunned to silence as my fingers ran over the soft material. I could have bought a hat in any store, designer brands and everything, expense has never been an issue. I highly doubted though, that if I had looked for months and months I would never be able to find a more beautiful hat. This was hand crafted, and made just for me. I had never expected such kindness from someone who was but still stranger to me.

"Do you like it?"Sherry asked, her voice was a little uncomfortable from my silence.

"It's the most gorgeous thing I think I have every possessed." I answered truthfully as I combed my fingers through my hair quickly and gently placed the hat on my head.

"How does it look?" I asked with a large smile plastered on my face. Sherry's smile was even brighter now and she nodded.

"Perfect." She answered.

Sherry and I began to talk for awhile about other subjects. I asked Sherry about her and her father and Sherry said that she has grown up her in Zephyr town with her father and that her mother had left when she was a little girl. I apologized to Sherry for bringing it up, but she said she didn't mind. Then she asked me about my family and I was put in the hot seat.

"O-Oh, well, my family? Um, well, my father and mother lived in the city. We were never really financially stable, but my uncle took care of us. He was a very wealthy man. Uh, both, of my parents died when I was a preteen, it was a, uh, automobile accident you see. I didn't have any siblings either, just my uncle you see. I went to live with him and my aunt and they couldn't have been any nicer. Uh, well, after my twentieth birthday they set me up with enough money and helped me go out on my own. That's how I could afford the farm at asking price and everything. E-Even if I turn out not to be the farmer I am hoping to be, I'll be able to keep myself on my feet." The fib flowed forward awkwardly but believable. Sherry seemed to believe it after all because she placed a hand on my shoulder and said,

"Oh you poor thing, both of your parents died? I couldn't even begin to imagine what you must have gone through emotionally!" I didn't have the heart to look her in the eyes because both of my parents were alive and well in the city, probably wondering where the hell I am right now. I did leave a note, but I left no clue as to where I had gone.

"I-It's ok. I've gotten to where I have accepted their passing over the years." I said with a fake smile hanging off my lips. "Besides, I-I had really over protective parents. If things hadn't, well, happened as they did, I might have never been able to move here and meet people like you and Dirk and Marian." Sherry smiled back, believing me thankfully. She grasped one of my hands again and pulled me up.

"It's getting dark out now. If I stall you any longer you might not be able to see your way back home." Sherry said with a small giggle that I shared with her.

The women in this town are just so sweet. Marian and Joan couldn't have been any nicer and now I saw such a potential friendship in Sherry as well. Things were really looking up for me, proving to my self-conscious that running away was the right idea after all.

As we descended the stairs I heard Felix's loud voice again. He was in a conversation with someone who I couldn't really hear over him.

"Father?" Sherry asked as she stopped at the bottom and peered out to her father's desk.

"Ah, Sherry! Oh don't worry you're not interrupting anything. Ivan here was just telling me some of the latest news from the city. You come on down. Anita is with you too right? Bring her down as well so we can introduce her!"

So that brother of Dirk had told me about was here, the school teacher if I remember correctly. I wondered if looked like Dirk in anyway. Compared to the little resemblance between Sherry and Felix though I bet he would in comparison.

I followed behind Sherry and saw the supposed brother who was sitting with Felix; currently he had his back was to me. I was beginning to think there was something familiar about Ivan until he turned around to greet me and reality slapped me in the face.

I couldn't believe it. I stopped in midstride and my eyes got a little wider. Luckily I made no audible sound of disbelief or I would died of embarrassment. The man who was smiling at me, or rather had a little confused look at the moment, looked exactly like the man I danced with six months ago.

I thought that it couldn't possibly be him, the odds were too slim, but once he spoke my fear was recognized.  
"Hello Anita, it's nice to meet you." He smiled as I somehow managed to walk to Sherry's side and smile back, rather awkwardly. The hat Sherry had given me, now a blessing in disguise, was shading my face mostly so my shocked expression was less noticeable.

Was this why the memory of that night kept coming back to me lately? I had never believed in many spiritual signs or things, but maybe it might have something to do with it this time. After all I had not thought this much about our dance since the week or so after it happened.

"Is something the matter?" I awoke up out of my sub conscious to see that I had stood there idle to Ivan's outstretched hand. By the look on his face I could tell that I had plainly let him hold it there for a moment too long.

"O-Oh, nothing is wrong. You… you just remind me an awful lot of someone I knew once." I replied finally as I awkwardly took his hand and shook.

His hand felt so much larger than mine, but then again I remember that I thought the same thing the night of the dance. I tensed the moment he pulled his hand back as a thought struck through my mind. What if he remembered me? Sure, I did find this man, attractive, but that did not mean that he was trustworthy. If he remembered who I was then how could I expect him not to go straight to my father? After all he did go to town everyday as Dirk had told me. I was almost positive that my disappearance had not gone unnoticed by now and that rumors might already be spreading.

I loosened my shoulders a bit as his friendly outer demeanor did not seem to change. Nor did it show any signs of recognition.

Mentally I slapped myself for my own stupidity. While I had been able to see his face that one night, we had been interrupted before I ever took off my mask. After changing my hair as well it was very unlikely that he would remember me by looks. It had been so long that he probably wouldn't remember my voice either.

"Oh, a friend of yours per chance?" Sherry asked and I looked back confused until I remembered what I had said.

"Oh, yes, something like that… or a little more." I added quietly and quite foolishly for Ivan seemed to hear the last part, but did not seem to take much of its meaning fortunately.

The awkward silence resumed and I could hear my own feet shuffling as odd as it was.

"Well, i-it was a pleasure meeting you, but, I-I'm afraid I have to go back to the farm now. It's getting a bit dark and all." I finally managed to say as I started backing towards the door.

"Oh, well, likewise. I hope to see you around town in the near future." Ivan replied with a friendly smile. I couldn't help but stare and a reply would not audibly form from my lips. I merely nodded and smiled after a while before quickly leaving and rushing out of town quickly.

I made it to my new home faster than I had departed from it. I could literally feel my heart pounding through my chest.

Even after all this time I still held this childish crush towards that man. We only spent one evening together but he was unlike any other man I had ever been with, let alone been in a relationship with.

It saddened me a bit though that he did not remember me, even if the odds were against him in this case. I then began thinking of ways to try and hint at it until he remembered but then I physically slapped myself for being even more foolish. There was no way that I was going to let this silly infatuation get me sent back home. I still couldn't trust the man, and if I openly came out as to who I was there was the strong chance that he would not take me back up on these small affections. After all it had only been one evening six months ago. While I knew that evening had been extraordinary for me, he had probably known many occasions like it. He probably had a romantic interest of his own by now. If he had thought of that dance it would probably be remembered as a delightful evening, but nothing more.

I would have to be very cautious around him. I could not let my small attraction for Ivan ruin everything I had been planning. This was my new home and I should not try and make my stay here awkward already, especially since I planned on my stay to be permanent.

I flopped back on my new bed after I had changed clothes and brushed my teeth and hair. The room was dark with the exception of the one light I aloud to be on by the bed.

I sat in silence thinking for a long time. My thoughts were bashing against my head over and over and after combing them over, I began to plan something that would ease both my heart and mind.

Just because I couldn't come to Ivan as the girl in the white mask from that wonderful night did not mean I had to give up any hopes of a romance with him at all. It only meant I had to come to him as a new person. Maybe we could become friends at first and I could slowly work around that. It would be a very long process and possibly very hard for me, but I couldn't help it. Ivan was the only one who had ever treated me equally like one would a colleague. For that reason and a few others I had become infatuated with him.

If anything, any hopes of a relationship right now seemed extremely one-sided on my part put this only made me determined. Who knows, maybe it would turn out that Ivan would just remain a friend and I would find someone else, but it never hurt to try. Now that I am living on my own, I have decided it is time for me to show some initiative.

Turning off the light I climbed under the covers. I felt asleep peacefully and waited for the next day to come.

**End of Chapter One**

Thoughts and reviews would be appreciated. I would appreciate any hate to be kept to yourself though. Helpful criticism is allowed though, even welcomed.


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